On June 25th, 2009, the world lost one of the greatest artists and humanitarian of all time. But his legacy lives on thanks to his music and to his fans that still celebrate his life.

This June 25th, 2017, Holland will remember, pay tribute and honour Michael Jackson with a benefit for children fighting cancer event called ‘Michael Jackson Memorial Day.’

All the profit from the activities on ‘Michael Jackson Memorial Day’ will go to KiKa. Kika is a foundation that focuses on children’s cancer research. Their goal is to collect all information worldwide, do new research, find better treatments and bring the healing opportunity up to 95% before 2025.

The event will take place at two locations, on Mood Beach and at the Palace Promenade, both in Scheveningen, Holland, with an International line-up of performers who will pay their respects to Michael with their special tributes to him.

The boulevard of Scheveningen will also be the location for an awesome flashmob for Michael and KIKA, with a free workshop for fans to learn the choreography. Activities will include ‘The Lanterns of L.O.V.E.’ which is a ceremony where fans will light beautiful lanterns on the beach of Schevening at sunset, paying their respects to Michael, a special, one-day-only, Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ Maze, an MJ Carousel, a Neverland Music Train, a Michael Jackson Iconic Dance Workshop, Inked Up Breda with her unique Michael Jackson Tattoos, an MJ Tribute Night, a Kika lottery, and much more.

More information about the ‘Michael Jackson Memorial Day’ in Holland and on how to purchase tickets is available here.

Source: King of Pop Events / MJWN / Billie Jean

Paris Jackson Shares Sweet Photo With Debbie Rowe. 10-02-'17

Paris Jackson enjoyed some quality time with her mother, Debbie Rowe!

On Thursday, Jackson took to Instagram to share a sweet photo of herself and Rowe showing off their huge smiles.

Last month, the 18-year-old model revealed that Rowe was officially done with her chemotherapy after being diagnosed with breast cancer last July.

"My badass mom, kickin butt n takin names. Ain't she f**kin fabulous????" she wrote on Instagram, along with a photo of Rowe holding up a sign reading, "Chemo done!".

Rowe started undergoing chemotherapy last August (16). At the time, she told ET that she was undergoing six treatments of chemo once every three weeks, followed by radiation every day for five weeks. She also shared that her daughter has been a tremendous support throughout her cancer battle.

"She's my rock, she's amazing," Rowe -- who also mothered a son, 19-year-old Prince, with the late Michael Jackson -- told ET when we spoke with her again in October (16). "She's been with me the whole time. She was there. First phone call, [it] took her 30 seconds [to reach out] when she found out. For her to kiss my bald head, [her love] is pretty unconditional."

Jackson, who is set to make her acting debut on the new Fox drama Star, will be a presenter at Sunday's Grammy Awards.

'Thor: Ragnarok' director Taika Waititi has signed on to direct “Bubbles,” a stop-motion animated film about Michael Jackson’s pet chimpanzee, alongside Mark Gustafson, The Wrap has learned.

Isaac Adamson wrote the script, which topped the 2015 Black List. Andrew Kortschak and Walter Kortschak of End Cue will produce the movie with Dan Harmon’s Starburns Industries. Adamson and Lee Stobby will serve as executive producers. Rocket Science is handling international sales for the title, while CAA is handling the U.S. rights.

New Zealand-born Waititi was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film for 2004’s 'Two Cars, One Night'. His other directorial credits include 'Eagle vs Shark', 'Boy', 'What We Do In The Shadows' and Disney/Marvel’s currently in-production 'Thor: Ragnarok', which is set to hit theaters Nov. 3. Gustafson is a veteran and Emmy-winning TV director.

“It’s an idea that fascinates me and one I want to develop further,” Waititi said in a statement. “Most people know I’m a huge Michael Jackson fan, so the main thing for me is to make sure it’s respectful of him and his legacy. I’m not interested in making a biopic; I want to focus on telling a story that blends fact and fantasy, about an animal trying to make sense of the world. This film is not about Michael Jackson because that’s not a story for me to tell – or a story I’d be comfortable telling – it’s about a chimpanzee’s fascinating journey through the complex jungle of human life. I think animation is the only way to approach a story like this. I really loved Anomalisa because it was beautiful and authentic in its meditation on loneliness. I’m really excited to be working with Dan Harmon and Starburns as we share similar sensibilities and want to tell human stories in unique and artistic ways.”

“Bubbles, the chimp had a front row seat and a truly unique perspective on the pop culture phenomenon of Michael Jackson,” Gustafson said in the statement. “I’m excited to have the opportunity to work with this great team to bring his story to life. Plus it’s a monkey. Who doesn’t like a monkey?”

Source: The Wrap / Billie Jean

Katherine Jackson Accuses Nephew Of Abuse. 09-02-'17

Katherine Jackson has accused her nephew of abusing her.

The 86-year-old matriarch - the mother of the late Michael Jackson and his famous siblings including Janet, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson - has obtained a restraining order against ''abusive con-man'' Trent Lamar Jackson, who previously acted as her driver.

In court documents obtained by TMZ and People, Katherine claims she was manipulated for years by Trent and left ''in a constant state of fear and confusion'' so he could take control of her finances and stay in her guest house for free.

The paperwork goes on to claim Trent tried to estrange his aunt from her children and she had to hide in her closet in order to speak to her offspring freely. Katherine's eldest daughter Rebbie and some of her other kids are willing to testify against him.

While Katherine - who was appointed legal guardian to Michael's children Prince, 19, Paris, 18, and Bigi, 14, after his death - is currently in London visiting Janet, her husband Wissam Al Mana and their new baby son Eissa, she is concerned about repercussions on her return to the US.

The documents state: ''Now that he knows his conduct will be revealed, she fears what he may do to her upon her return.''

According to Katherine, she tried to fire Trent from his job as her driver, for which he was paid a ''near six-figure'' sum, on February 3 with the Sheriff present, but he fled as deputies and her lawyer arrived.

Trent - who has been accused of taking money from his aunt's accounts and using her credit cards for personal purchases - must stay 100 yards away from Katherine under the terms of the order.

The judge also ordered him to move out of her guest house and return all his keys, passwords and combinations to the property.

Last summer, a young woman named Shana Mangatal detailed her alleged two-decade romance with Michael Jackson in a tell-all book, Michael and Me, including the claim that she lost her virginity to the late icon.

Now she's explaining why she wrote the book.

"He was a human being. He was a man because it seems that as the years go on he's turning into, not even a human being. Just a caricature, you know? I felt him guiding me throughout the whole entire process of writing it."

"I was thinking OK, the universe put me in Michael's life for a reason and I have an opportunity here to help clear his name. Help people understand who he actually was, because no one seems to be doing that or able to do that and I just felt it was what I was meant to do."

Shana also shares why is was seven years after Michael's death that she completed her book.

As for her skeptics, she says it's equally hard to deal with nasty comments directed her way.

"I can't read them because I get really upset. Because I put my heart and soul into the book and this is my life we're talking about; it's not somebody else's life that I wrote about. It's my life. And I made the conscious effort to just write it exactly as it happened," she says.

Source: ABC News / Billie Jean

Top Investigators Want New Autopsy To Prove If He Was Murdered. 08-02-'17

Michael Jackson‘s body must be exhumed for a new autopsy as detectives probe chilling charges the superstar was MURDERED and evidence indicates the crime was covered up!

That’s the bombshell conclusion reached by an exhaustive Radar investigation after the King of Pop’s 18-year-old daughter, Paris, sparked a firestorm by insisting her father was the victim of a bloodthirsty plot on his life!

“It’s obvious! All arrows point to that,” says Paris. “All real fans and everybody in the family knows it. It was a set-up.”

Now, top investigators have gotten behind Paris’ astonishing claims and say the Gloved One’s body, laid to rest in the Great Mausoleum in Glendale, Calif.’s, Forest Lawn Cemetery, should be removed from its crypt for a fresh autopsy.

California cop-turned-legal consultant John A. Carman tells Radar that puzzling scars on Michael’s body, pill bottles found in a Dumpster and a mystery man seen leaving his house the night of his death — June 25, 2009 — point to the possibility of murder.

“Could it be that everything we thought we knew about Michael’s death is wrong and that his real killer has never been punished?” says Carman.

“There are new questions now and having his body re-autopsied would get the answers.”

Retired FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Ted Gunderson insists, “Digging up Jackson for a FOURTH autopsy is the best way to answer key questions once and for all.”

Following the first postmortem immediately after ­Jackson’s death, the Los Angeles County ­coroner ruled the 50-year-old 'Thriller' singer died from an overdose of the powerful ­anesthetic propofol.

Two other autopsies, performed at the request of Michael’s family, seemed to confirm the coroner’s findings.

Michael’s private doctor ­Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary ­manslaughter and served time for ­prescribing Michael the deadly drug. Murray has always ­maintained his ­innocence and insists he was railroaded.

That claim is given new credence by Paris. The teen says she “absolutely” believes her dad was intentionally killed and ­maintains “a lot of people” wanted him dead.

Carman notes that while ­Jackson died of a propofol overdose, his system also had traces of Ativan, Versed and Valium!

Jackson's body was flown by helicopter in June 2009 to the Los Angeles Coroner's offices in Lincoln Heights, where a three-hour autopsy was performed the next day on behalf of the Los Angeles County Coroner by the chief medical examiner Lakshmanan Sathyavagiswaran. Jackson's family arranged for a second autopsy, a practice that could yield expedited—albeit limited—results.

The 'Bad' singer also had many unexplained scars on his body, which could indicate an assassin or other evildoer tried to incapacitate him.

“The P.I. recovered two bottles of prescription pills, both for the generic form of the powerful painkiller Oxycontin!”

Along with the label-less bottles, prescription pads from an assortment of doctors and clinics were also discovered.

“Michael had no Oxycontin in his system,” so it’s bizarre someone would “want to get rid of this evidence,” says the detective.

Carman says cops should have searched the Dumpster for weapons that may have been used to knock out “an already weakened Jackson.” He believes a new analysis could reveal the exact extent of Jackson’s drug use in his final years — and point a finger at anyone who supplied the killer chemicals to him!

But new tests must be run — with new tissue samples.

While slices of Michael’s brain tissue and vials of his blood were preserved, insiders fear the previous autopsies used up the samples. His body needs to be exhumed for fresh material!

Source: Radar Online / Billie Jean

Michael Jackson Was On Verge Of Bankruptcy Before Death, Banker Testifies In Court. 07-02-'17

Michael Jackson’s finances were off-the-wall complicated and near collapse before his 2009 death, a banker testified Tuesday in a megabucks tax trial pitting the singer’s estate against the IRS.

“He was on the edge,” banker David Dunn testified in U.S. Tax Court in Los Angeles. “He was desperately trying to figure out what he could do to address his financial crisis.”

Experts said the long-awaited trial could lead to a whopping $1 billion tax bill for the King of Pop’s estate if the judge finds it undervalued assets, as alleged by Uncle Sam.

Dunn testified he was hired in 2007 to help pull Jackson back from the brink of bankruptcy after his 2005 child molestation trial prompted at least one lender, Bank of America, to bolt.

Dunn said Jackson remained in a “very precarious situation” in early 2008 with more than $300 million in debt, out-of-control spending habits and his lavish Neverland Ranch near foreclosure.

Jackson borrowed a lot of money, he knew he had financial issues … but the last thing he wanted to do was tour. He was looking for other things to generate income to avoid doing what he wound up agreeing to do,” Dunn said.

Dunn said he resigned in May 2009 because it was hard to tell “which way was up, which way was down," and Jackson hadn't paid him in two years, despite owing him some $300,000.

Jackson had agreed to his 'This Is It' comeback tour and was surrounding himself with some new people who made Dunn “uncomfortable.”

This included Arfak Hussain, a British fraudster who “made two bottles of $100,000 perfume and sold them both to Michael," Dunn testified.

Jackson died June 25, 2009, in Los Angeles from an overdose of the surgery-strength anesthetic propofol, which he was using off-label as a sleep aid during preparation for 'This Is It'.

After Jackson's death, interest in his music spiked, Dunn said. The new revenue allowed his estate to refinance his complex web of debt and generate new income with the 'This Is It' concert movie and a lucrative Cirque du Soleil show in Las Vegas.

Jackson’s longtime attorney John Branca was in court for a second day Tuesday after taking the witness stand Monday.

The tax fight started in 2013 after the IRS claimed the estate undervalued assets including the worth of Jackson’s likeness and image when he died.

Source: Daily News / Billie Jean

Brad Sundberg Returns To Paris. 06-02-'17

Brad Sundberg will be back next month in Paris with Music First to celebrate his 100th event where it all began. Reservations will open this weekend.

The three events that will take place at the SAE Studios de Paris are set at:

"When I tell these stories, I actually tell them with affection,” says Branca of the late King of Pop.

Prominent music attorney John Branca took the stand Monday on the first day of trial in a potentially billion-dollar tax fight between Michael Jackson's estate and the IRS.

Branca, who represented the King of Pop off and on for nearly three decades, took the stand after lunch, and spent nearly four hours being examined by Jackson estate attorney Howard Weitzman.

Trial is expected to last three weeks, as attorneys for the estate and the government each work to convince a judge that their value of Jackson's likeness at the time of his death is the correct one. Jackson is widely considered one of the greatest musical talents who ever lived — but the court will have to decide if accusations of child molestation, rumors of drug use and a lack of tours and album releases in the last few years of his life were enough to lower the value of his brand.

The mood in the courtroom was starkly different than that of others in the same downtown L.A. federal courthouse. U.S. Tax Court Judge Mark Holmes, the attorneys and the witness, Branca, routinely cracked jokes amid a very serious conversation about Jackson's financial woes.

Branca told the court Jackson was about $400 million in debt when he died, leaving estate attorneys scrambling to avoid foreclosures on his properties and music assets. (The parties also disagree about how much Jackson's beneficial interest in the Sony-ATV and MIJAC music catalogs were worth.)

The more relaxed atmosphere gave Branca license to be more expositional with his answers to Weitzman's questions, which would have likely been cut off by a judge in a standard civil law courtroom.

“I’m going to tear up," Branca said. "Michael was a genius. He was a great guy. When I tell these stories, I actually tell them with affection.”

Among countless deals for the singer, Branca helped renegotiate Jackson's recording deal to reflect his status as a solo artists and inked a sponsorship deal with Pepsi for his family's 1984 Victory tour. “Michael made me write into the contract that he would never be seen holding a Pepsi can and he would never be onscreen for more than three seconds,” said Branca.

A decade later, the work wasn't so easy. By the time Jackson was preparing for his international HIStory tour in the late '90s the first sexual molestation allegations against him had surfaced and no sponsors were interested.

"Were there any offers for the use of Michael's name and likeness during that period?" asked Weitzman. "Nothing credible that I recall," said Branca.

Proving Jackson's reputation had been tarnished by allegations against him and tabloid fodder is key in the estate's efforts to support their valuation of his likeness rights at the time he died.

After several years of not working together, Branca met with Jackson just more than a week before the singer's death and brought with him a list of potential ideas. That list included a 'Thriller' film, play and haunted house attraction, as well as album and DVD re-releases — but none of his ideas involved licensing Jackson's name or likeness.

Weitzman asks if musicians make a lot of money in general merchandising, which he described as licensing an artist's name and image for mugs, T-shirts and other tchotchkes. "No," said Branca. "That income for most musicians is dwarfed compared to the money they make from recordings, their songs and especially the tours. Putting out a record is not a name and likeness right."

That's also important — because since Jackson's death, the estate has used unreleased rehearsal footage to make 'This is It', which is one of the biggest grossing concert films ever, and launched a lucrative Las Vegas show in partnership with Cirque du Soleil. Branca said neither of those qualify as likeness deals.

After two failed clothing line licensing attempts during the course of his living career, the one likeness deal that shows potential after his death is with a teen clothing company called Supreme. Branca explained to Holmes that kids are "crazy" for the company's shirts and the deal is an effort to rebrand Jackson's image with a younger audience.

"We make no money from it, but maybe someday we’ll get new fans," he said.

The IRS' attorneys declined to cross-examine Branca, in favor of calling him back to testify when they present their case.

Before letting Branca leave the stand, the judge took the opportunity to ask him to explain one of Jackson's lyrics. "You’re familiar with 'Thriller,'" said Holmes. "What exactly does 'the funk of 40,000 years' mean?"

"Karma," answered Branca.

Source: Hollywood Reporter / Billie Jean

The Estate Of Michael Jackson.

Michael Jackson’s Estate Faces Demand For Big Tax Payment. 05-02-'17

Dispute with IRS centers on valuation of the singer’s name and likeness rights at time of his death.

When pop star Michael Jackson died in 2009, weeks before a planned comeback tour, how much was the man in the mirror worth? The answer is far from black and white.

After coming to agreements on the value of some of the King of Pop's more concrete assets in a legal fight that began four years ago, the estate's executors are facing off with the Internal Revenue Service in U.S. Tax Court on Monday (February 6), primarily over the valuation of the singer's name and likeness rights at the time of his death.

Depending on the outcome of the case, the estate could be on the hook for more than $500 million in taxes and $200 million in penalties, according to the IRS's notice to the estate of its deficiency.

The estate put the value of his name and image at $2,105, at a time when Mr. Jackson's reputation was sullied by child-abuse allegations and his strange public behavior. After releasing his last studio album in 2001, he was accused in 2003 -- and later acquitted -- of molesting children at his Neverland Ranch in Southern California. Numerous other incidents, including dangling his baby son from a hotel room window in 2002, also hurt his public image.

Even after Mr. Jackson had sold out the 50 shows at London's O2 arena that he had planned for the 'This Is It' tour in the summer of 2009, he was unable to find a tour sponsor, said Howard Weitzman, the attorney representing the estate in the trial.

But the IRS argues that the pop star's name and likeness should have been valued at $161 million; that would be down from 2013, when it valued those rights at $434 million.

"No celebrity's name and likeness rights have sold for anywhere near that much -- not Elvis, not Marilyn, not Ali. And Michael did not make that much from his name and likeness -- as opposed to his music -- in his lifetime," said Mr. Weitzman, noting that he only earned about $50 million from those rights while he was alive. "They are trying to take what Michael's estate created for his children after death and extract an unreasonable and excessive tax."

The IRS didn't respond to a request for comment.

The gaping discrepancy highlights the difficulty of putting a price on a music star's name and image, as distinct from what his or her music is worth. Doing so requires guessing what the celebrity would have earned in licensing deals. Future licensing opportunities can also be hard to predict as technology evolves, with holograms and virtual reality now presenting new revenue opportunities for dead stars, for example.

Running the estate since Mr. Jackson's death have been entertainment attorney John Branca -- who started representing Mr. Jackson in the 80s -- and veteran music executive John McClain.

Since 2009, the two executors have helped the estate net about $1 billion, thanks to endeavors including music sales, a Cirque du Soleil tribute show and the posthumous release of the documentary 'This Is It', which followed Mr. Jackson as he prepared for his comeback tour.

The biggest payout came last year when they sold the estate's approximately 50% stake in the world's biggest music publishing company, Sony/ATV Music Publishing, to Sony Corp., netting about $750 million. As a result, the $500 million in debt Mr. Jackson died with has been transformed into about the same amount in cash for the performer's mother and children.

The executors first brought the fight to U.S. Tax Court in 2013 when they filed a petition challenging a notice from IRS that had adjusted the estate's total value to more than $1.3 billion, from $7 million. The right to Mr. Jackson's image and likeness was among the IRS's biggest adjustments.

A trial slated for 2014 was postponed as the two camps began reaching settlements on the values of some interests such as the star's recordings and California property.

Los Angeles entertainment attorney Mitra Ahouraian said that if the IRS prevails, it is likely to pursue other celebrity estates for additional taxes on their name and likeness rights.

The judge is dealing with the issue of what — and how — a theoretical buyer would have paid Jackson for the right to use his name and image.

This month, a groundbreaking tax trial begins over what Michael Jackson's estate owes the Internal Revenue Service for the value of the late entertainer's image and likeness when he died in 2009. The dispute's significance not only derives from Michael Jackson's fame and the stakes — perhaps as much as $1 billion — but also first impression legal questions that will impact how celebrities prepare for their eventual demise.

Maybe it's no surprise then that as the case nears trial proceedings in California, U.S. Tax Court judge Mark Holmes is having to figure out whether to allow testimony and expert reports from some of the most distinguished legal scholars out there. For instance, UCLA Law School professor Eugene Volokh saw his report on behalf of the Estate ruled inadmissible in December while copyright legend David Nimmer's report on behalf of the IRS is currently pending a motion to preclude.

The big issue for Holmes to settle is how to properly value Jackson's right of publicity at time of death. That's not simple. Does it mean the judge should put emphasis on how Jackson's name was tarnished before he died, emphasizing charges of child molestation and rumors of drug use? Should he ignore the lucrative deals that executors of Jackson's estate made with Cirque du Soleil and others after Jackson died? Can the judge incorporate post-death earnings by maybe seeing it through the prism of what a theoretical buyer might have paid Jackson for the right to use his name and image for eternity?

With such questions hanging in the background, Holmes issued a ruling on Thursday (January 2) pertaining to Weston Anson, a licensing expert, whose report included such speculation as a "Michael Jackson theme park."

Taxpayers are suing the IRS over that huge hack, of course.

The most significant objection to Anson's testimony dealt with how the expert incorporated the value of trademarks, copyrights, and rights to receive royalties as a performer. Jackson's estate argued that "mashups" of different rights violated a requirement that every item of property be valued separately.

"This is an especially interesting legal question," writes Holmes in his order. "In a world without transaction costs, it wouldn't matter if publishing rights, performance royalties, trademarks, etc were valued separately because a rational buyer would value them as if they could be put together in the most profitable way even if they were bought separately. But it is entirely possible that trial will show that these separate rights would be more valuable if used together. If so, and if the Estate owned these separate rights, it might well be the case that they are worth more together than they would be if summed separately."

Separately, the judge has deferred the issue whether it's the IRS' burden to show Jackson's right of publicity is worth hundreds of millions or whether it's the Jackson estate's burden to show it's worth just $2,105.

Source: Hollywood Reporter / Billie Jean

getTV’s Black History Month Is With The Jackson 5 At Variety Shows. 02-02-'17

The archives of American chat shows and variety shows of the 1960's and 70's held a vault of talented performances from so many musicians — especially African American bands and performers who lit up the stages with songs that resonated for the times and were pop megahits that nobody missed.

Now getTV tips their hat in a most creative and music-filled way for Black History Month in February with epic performances — from Whitney Houston to the Jackson 5, to the lions of R&B including Aretha Franklin.

If you love music and miss those days of Merv Griffin, The Bing Crosby Specials, The Smokey Robinson Show, Woody Allen Looks at 1967, the Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour and other terrific American TV shows that had these artists not only perform but worked into comedy segments, you will love this.

The explosion of American television in the 1950's made pop music a major drawing card. We had The Ed Sullivan Show and Top of the Pops, then in later years we saw American Bandstand, Soul Train, The Smothers Brothers and The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour where all musicians, especially African American artists, got to develop distinct visual styles and stage moves to accompany their music.

The Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour with the Jackson 5.

The network kicks off with the late Whitney Houston’s national television debut, and even wheels out The Jackson 5 performing their disco classic 'Dancing Machine'.

Even the lovely multi-talented Lena Horne’s first TV special is unearthed as getTV starts its Black History Month celebrations on Monday, February 6, at 9pm ET.

The musical month has four straight weeks of Sonny & Cher guest performances by Michael Jackson and The Jackson 5 each Monday at 9pm ET, followed by moments from Lena Horne, Lola Falana, and more.

And starting at 11pm on Sunday, February 12, is a ‘Get Lost In TV’ block celebrating rare clips with a Night Of Soul to dovetail with the Grammy Awards that evening.

Lady GaGa wants her Super Bowl half-time show to be a spectacle audiences will ''never forget'', just like when she saw the late Michael Jackson sing at the NFL showpiece in 1993.

The 'Born This Way' hitmaker will provide the half-time entertainment at the annual sporting spectacle at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas, on Sunday (05.02.17) and has vowed to put on show that people will ''never forget'', much like when she saw the late King of Pop's NFL gig in 1993.

She said: ''I want to more than anything create a moment that everybody watching will never forget. Not for me, but for themselves.

''That's what I remember about great Super Bowl performances in the past: when you really get lost watching with your family.

''Watching Michael Jackson doing the halftime show is one of the fondest memories I have.

''He encapsulates everything that you love about a great performer. You watch him go on stage, and you can see that he's getting his head in the zone, and he's having a true defining moment of what it must feel like to be a champion.''

Source: Contact Music / Billie Jean

Valentines Day At MichaelJackson.com. 02-02-'17

The Estate of Michael Jackson just released another 9 items on www.michaeljackson.com clearly to celebrate Valentines day!

Michael Jackson Is Worth More Than Ever, And The IRS Wants A Piece Of It. 01-02-'17

Jackson’s star lawyer made a mint for his heirs, so now the government has to be startin’ somethin’.

Seven years after Michael Jackson’s fatal overdose of propofol and lorazepam in 2009, the statute of limitations on gossiping about the deceased is, apparently, over. In one of her rare interviews in the midst of the presidential campaign, future First Lady Melania Trump told the luxury magazine DuJour how Jackson, a friend of Donald’s and onetime Trump Tower resident, mischievously suggested they kiss to make her husband jealous. Then Madonna, on CBS’s Late Late Show, revealed that she’d smooched amorously with him long ago. And the New York Post’s Page Six dropped a chunk from Tommy Hilfiger’s memoir, American Dreamer: My Life in Fashion and Business, about the designer’s visit in the 1990s at Neverland Ranch, the singer’s compound in Santa Barbara County, Calif. After encountering a giraffe and a string of baby elephants outside, Hilfiger found Jackson in his office, with a bandage on his nose, wearing sunglasses and sitting on “an enormous gold-and-burgundy throne.” His two oldest children, Prince and Paris, were there, dressed “like characters from a Broadway show or The Sound of Music—velveteen knickers, dirndl jumper, ruffled blouses, patent leather shoes, each in full makeup.”

Paris, in response to such banter and because she’s now 18, just gave her first full-length interview in a Rolling Stone cover story, setting the record straight: She’d had a wonderful childhood until her father’s death at age 50. After, she struggled with drugs and attempted suicide several times, but she’s now happy, clean, and, the magazine reports, “heir to a mammoth fortune—the Michael Jackson Trust is likely worth more than $1 billion, with disbursements to the kids in stages.”

That number could change if the IRS has anything to do with it. The agency’s lawyers are taking the executors to trial, set to begin sometime this month in U.S. Tax Court in Los Angeles. The IRS intends to prove that $702 million of that inheritance is owed in penalties and back taxes. The crux of the case is the disputed value of Jackson’s name and likeness, which is to say the right to use his visage on everything from coffee cups to baseball caps. An estate tax filing is supposed to be a snapshot of the person’s assets on the day of his expiration, and under California law that includes the value of a star’s name and likeness. The IRS claims Jackson’s should have been valued at $434 million. The estate claims that it was worth a mere $2,105, implying that his image had been rendered all but worthless by stories about skin bleaching, his obsession with plastic surgery, prescription drug abuse, odd parenting choices—such as covering his children’s faces in black veils or Spider-Man masks in public—and allegations that he molested young boys who visited Neverland.

John Branca at home in Beverly Hills.

Celebrity estate lawyers are watching closely. It felt like a record year for the deaths of icons in 2016, with the passing of Prince, David Bowie, Leonard Cohen, Merle Haggard, Muhammad Ali, and Debbie Reynolds and her daughter Carrie Fisher. Fisher’s December departure prompted reports that Walt Disney was rushing to make a deal to use her digital likeness in future Star Wars movies. (Disney denied this.) The Jackson case signals that tax examiners see enhanced value in a deceased star’s face and name as technology and social media open up novel paths to profit, such as the ability to conjure up appearances using computer-generated imagery and voice software.

The man largely responsible for the estate’s current fiscal health is not Michael Jackson, or not exactly. For the balance of the past 37 years, a 66-year-old Los Angeles entertainment attorney named John Branca, a partner at the firm Ziffren Brittenham, has handled the singer’s record deals and tried to shield him from his own worst impulses. After Jackson’s death, Branca and John McClain, a veteran music industry executive and former Jackson confidant who keeps a lower profile (and declined to be interviewed for this story), were appointed executors of the singer’s estate, which gave them responsibility for generating income for the beneficiaries named in his will—his children Prince, Paris, and Blanket, and his mother, Katherine Jackson, whom he designated as their guardian.

“Michael used to say to me, ‘You and I, Branca, we’re going to be examples for the business, we’re going to be the kings,’ ” Branca says. It’s early July, and he’s reclining in the opulently furnished living room of his home in a gated community high in Beverly Hills. He looks like an aging rock star himself, intent on defying the calendar. He’s slim, brown-haired, and dressed fashionably in a black polo shirt, black pants, and expensive-looking black leather sneakers. The twice-divorced Branca is engaged to Jenna Hurt, a 32-year-old model who makes a brief appearance and then withdraws to let her fiancé hold court. The walls are covered with signed portraits of clients extolling his expertise, including Berry Gordy, the former head of Motown Records, the Eagles’ Don Henley, Brian Wilson of the Beach Boys, and, of course, Jackson, who can be seen posing happily with Lisa Marie Presley, his first wife. Branca casually notes that he introduced them.